White House: Different Ebola rules? Blame James Madison

It's not every day that James Madison pops up at a White House news briefing.

But his name surfaced Monday -- not for being the nation's 4th president, but rather for his role in forging the U.S. Constitution approved by the original 13 states.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest invoked the "father of the Constitution" when asked about the "patchwork" of state and federal policies to evaluate health workers returning from Ebola-stricken nations in West Africa.

"You can sort of take this up with James Madison, right?" Earnest said. "We have a federal system in this country in which states are given significant authority for governing their constituents."

While Obama officials have urged New York, New Jersey, and Illinois to change quarantine requirements for health care workers returning from West Africa, Earnest said officials are working together.

"I think that you have seen a strong working relationship between states across the country and the federal government," he said.